Student Placement Review

As my first internship it was a really good and enjoyable experience. The work was interesting and I collaborated in 5 different projects, which gave me a good idea of what to expect from a graduate role. A few events were also organised for interns and graduates, from sports to pub quizzes, and I met lots of other students.

Everyone in my team was really friendly and helpful. I could always feel free to ask for help if I had a problem. The people I worked closest made sure that I was kept busy and took interest in my studies. Nevertheless, the fact that different people in my team were working on different projects meant that I only worked closely with a few of my team-mates and I did not get to know so well other people.

When I was given any piece of work, I was always provided a brief explanation and what the supervisor expected me to do. However, my team was quite busy, so I tried to complement questioning my supervisor with research to make sure I delivered exactly what they wanted. I actually did not mind this "freedom" as I felt that I learnt more about the discipline this way. Furthermore, even though my supervisor was busy, he was always happy to answer any questions I had.

Generally the work balance was quite good and throughout my 8 weeks I rarely had nothing to do. As the business is project based, this did mean that I had to work for longer when a deadline was drawing close and after the submission I was given smaller tasks as most of the work had been done. However, this is part of the nature of the business.

I was quite happy by the amount of responsibility I was given in my placement. My first task involved preparing a schedule which was sent to the contractor. I also reviewed materials sent by the architects and other consultants, and contacted manufacturers on behalf of the team. Some of my drawings were also presented in the submission. So overall, I felt that I was trusted by my team and was given relevant work.

I really value the skills and knowledge I developed through this internship. Even though some of my work did not relate directly to my degree, the soft skills that I have put into practice will be useful throughout my career. Also furthering my understanding of the different aspects of the built environment will complement the knowledge I gained from my university course.

The atmosphere in the office was really good, with people having friendly conversations in the mornings before starting work and at lunch times. Throughout the day you could hear different teams having discussions and the cantine was full of graduates and interns.

The internship did not have a very clear structure and I was mainly helping different teams depending on their workload. I was always given tasks to do, and the fact that I was collaborating with teams that had approaching deadlines meant that they gave me work that really needed to be done. So this way I felt part of the team. Nevertheless, this also meant that sometimes I had to carry out the more repetitive tasks.

In contrast with other companies, there was no formal training at the beginning of the internship, and I was given work straight away. This was not ideal as some of my tasks involved concepts I had not come across before and could have been explained easily. However, in a real job you would be expected to research on your own and my supervisor was always happy to explain anything.

I would definitely return to the company for a graduate role. The company has streamlined the process for interns such that human resources does an internal application for you. In fact, towards the end of my internship I completed a feedback form in which I was given the chance to choose my preferred disciplines.

Yes, I always had lunch with other interns and graduates and the company organised plenty of activities.

Since I was based in the London office, which is located in the centre, everything was a bit expensive. However. the company offers subsidized food and as I study in London I already had a flat. So the only real expense for me was the transport.

Yes, the Young Engineers Forum, which is an association of graduates inside the company, organised activities three days a week including sport events. workshops or pub quizzes. Friday after - work drinks were also a good opportunity to catch up with the team or other interns.